Indie Time-Travel Character Drama “Life Is Strange” Set for January 2015 Release

An upcoming indie game will explore the question, “does high school suck less when you have the power to control time?”

The game Life Is Strange is an episodic drama from French studio Dontnod Entertainment (the creators of the futuristic thriller Remember Me), and focuses on a high school girl’s life when she discovers she can manipulate time.

The game’s publisher Square Enix announced today that Episode 1 will debut on January 30, 2015, and released a new trailer for the game (see below).

The style of the trailer makes it feel more like a preview for the movie Juno rather than a video game. And while time travel is the game’s headlining feature, it’s clear from the trailer that Life is Strange will be primarily character-driven, rather than action-based.

The main character, Max, returns to her hometown in Oregon after five years and discovers that her old best friend Chloe is searching for a missing classmate, Rachel. As the player navigates Max’s high school life, they can use her powers to undo actions they’ve taken during the game. Numerous video game critics who have played a demo of Life is Strange point to a number of similarities between it and the point-and-click drama Gone Home. A demo for Life is Strange premiered at NYCC back in October, and GameSkinny’s own Venisia Gonzalez wrote an extensive review of her first impressions of the game.

Life is Strange‘s first episode will cost $4.99, or will be available as a 5-episode season pass for $19.99. Square Enix is also offering a separate season pass for the later four episodes for $16.99.